Plans all in place
Timberlake High’s Steven Bakker not only has a life plan in place, but he’s already well on his way to making it happen – pretty unusual for an 18-year-old.
The son of Susan and Matt Carns, Bakker said he has always liked math, but got really excited about it this year when he discovered physics. “I liked math in the first place,” he said, “but learning how to apply it is awesome. Physics is my favorite subject – ever.”
Heading off to college is a time when most students begin to discover who they are, but Bakker already has that figured out. He plans on turning his love of numbers into an engineering degree. Then, with the clear, logical thinking of an aspiring engineer, he has a plan in place to obtain the simple things he considers most important in life – being in the outdoors, living in the mountains and riding his motorcycle.
Those might seem like unusual life goals, but not to Bakker, who said he finds mountains the most inspirational thing in his life. “I just like being in the mountains, and I like to learn about them, explore them,” he said, leaving no doubt he is a young man with concrete plans to live the simple life of his dreams.
But, first, he had to graduate from high school. That part seemed to come easy, according to Bakker, who graduated with a 4.0 grade-point average as one of four valedictorians at Timberlake High School on June 6. Although he was a successful student, Bakker said he kept a pretty low profile at school, sharing that he didn’t play many sports, and somehow forgot to join Honor Society.
“I guess I should have joined that,” he said. Although organized sports weren’t for him, Bakker spent his time enjoying the beauty of the outdoors and the outdoor sports he could pursue near his home, a 20-acre parcel in Athol, not far from thousands of acres of national forest. During high school, his favorite activities became motorcycling, snowmobiling and skiing with friends – especially motorcycling.
Bakker also spent time working when he wasn’t in school. This summer will mark the fourth year he has worked as a seasonal worker at Silverwood. He said Silverwood is a great place to work and he does enjoy company benefits, such as the staff parties; but, with an engineer’s absolute sincerity, Bakker said he can’t quite figure out how he has earned his nicknames at work. “Last summer they called me “Chirping Cricket” and this year they call me “Sir Disco King,” he said with a confused grin – “I don’t know why – they know I don’t dance.”
While the nicknames might have him confused, the next step he needed to accomplish his life goals didn’t. He needed to nab a big scholarship so he could get a college education at the college of his choice – Montana State University in Bozeman – the perfect school for him because he plans to make Montana his permanent home. This is where dreaming big comes in.
He applied to the college and when his ACT scores came in, realized he qualified for a $30,000 scholarship, but not the $60,000 scholarship he knew was out there. So, he took the ACT test two more times – and the third time was the charm. “I didn’t check my scores online that morning before I went to school because if I didn’t make it, I didn’t want it to ruin my day,” said Bakker. “When I got out of school and went out to my truck, it was full of balloons and a banner. My mom had checked, and I made it.”
With his scholarship in place, a four-year ride to his first college of choice is assured. But, Bakker’s plan goes further. He knows he doesn’t want a job that requires him to travel and knows he wants to live simply.
“I want to live back up in the woods somewhere, maybe in a cabin, and enjoy life,” he said with conviction, adding, “and I’ll probably buy a bigger motorcycle.”
Somehow, it’s easy to believe he’ll do just that.